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Super Healthy – Pumpkin Seeds

pumpkin seeds 1

Did you know that you can eat seeds? Yes, it’s true you can as they are rich in nutrients. These small but mighty kernels are high in vitamins and minerals the body needs to function at peak performance. Seeds are extremely versatile and can be incorporated easily into a variety of different recipes. There are various kinds of seeds that you can eat and Pumpkin seeds are one amongst them that you can eat.

Pumpkin seeds are green in colour and may have a white outer covering. They are flat and asymmetrically oval in shape. The white husk is edible. They have a distinct nutty and crunchy taste.  You can easily get them in the market.

Can be prepared at home too!!!

They can be easily prepared at home by scraping the inside of the pumpkin with a metal spoon. Take out all the seeds. Wash them under running water and separate the seeds from the mass and other remains of a pumpkin. Boil the seeds in salted water for 10 minutes. Keep the salt minimum. You can use rock salt or Himalayan pink salt. Remove from heat and drain. Roast the seeds in the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Brush the tray with some olive oil and spread the seeds in a single layer. Don’t overlap. Bake for 5 to 10 minutes. Let the pumpkin seeds cool down…Voila!! They are ready to EAT!!!

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Nutritional facts:

Pumpkin seeds are energy packed. These small seeds are high in calories (approximately 550 kcal in 100 grams). They are a major source of proteins, fibre, niacin, iron, zinc, magnesium, manganese and phosphorus. Apart from that, they are also a good source of Vitamin B5, B6, B9, potassium and sodium.

It is one of the superfoods. It is an essential part of everyone’s diet (Check with your doctor if you are renal patient)

How to eat these energy-packed seeds?

  • Buy or prepare roasted pumpkin seeds
  • These can be included in a variety of things like :

 

  1. Roasted snacks: To make this – Mix roasted puffed rice + roasted chana + roasted makhana + roasted pumpkin seeds + roasted almonds/ walnuts + roasted peanuts. Choose all or two or three of the ingredients. But don’t skip the seeds. Mix and keep in a jar. Eat as a snack. Very healthy!!! Remember all these have to be dry roasted (without ghee/oil) or roasted in homemade ghee according to your calorie needs.

 

  1. Add them to a bowl of curd or oats porridge and enjoy the healthy nutritious snacks.

 

  1. Make pumpkin seeds sweet bars at home. Roast a combination of pumpkin seeds and melon seeds in ghee. Place them on plate evenly. Prepare jaggery syrup. Pour these over the seeds. Let it cool down. After it cools down completely, break into small piece and enjoy eating!!! (This recipe is not advisable for people who want to reduce weight. Good for people who want gain weight or kids).

 

  1. Nutty powder – Mix 50 grams roasted pumpkin seeds + 50 grams roasted melon seeds + 50 grams roasted sesame seeds + 100 grams almonds + Rocky candy (Mishri) as per taste + 25 grams anise (saunf) = Powder them together. Store them in an airtight container. Eat 1 teaspoon daily. Super healthy powder!!!

 

  1. Top it up on your salads. Yummilicious!!!

 

How much can I eat?

As pumpkin seeds are calorie and nutrient dense food, taking too much is not a good idea. You can take up to 2 tablespoons daily (30 grams). This may vary if you have any medical problems.

I hope after reading these facts about pumpkin seeds you will surely include them in your diet. I, myself, eat them daily. I pop in 1 teaspoon roasted pumpkin seeds just before going to bed.

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Mind It: Eat slowly, do not gobble down

mindful eating

I had just about done with my daily routine of a brisk walk in a park. And, I hear some noises- what is it that I hear…it was my stomach growling. Sending me hunger cues and reminding me that I should be eating something. And, yes I was so hungry that I could probably eat a horse.

I quickly walked up to the nearest café to grab some snacks so I could calm down my growling stomach. While I was awaiting my order, I started to look around the café. One of the best things to while you are alone in a café is to observe others sitting there.  What do I see?

I see this young man eating at breakneck speed. Probably he was in a hurry to just grab some food and rush out to work. While he was eating a break neck speed he was also fidgeting with his phone. Ain’t we all good at multitasking of this nature? As he was eating he also managed to engage himself in few calls. If he could do that to me it came across as he wasn’t in such a hurry as it seemed! Then I thought to myself why would somebody be eating at such a speed? Probably, just a habit I thought to myself!

This is true though. There are many people whom I know have developed these fast eating habits. They are most often in a hurry to get over and done with their food to get away from the table. Most often one develops these habits during childhood and it continues through your adulthood.

But, let me tell you that gobbling down the food quickly without realizing what just went in, does no good to your body. In fact, eating too fast could nearly double your risk of being overweight or obese. A study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association shows that women aged 40-50 years who eat the quickest are more likely to be obese than slow eaters.

Once you start eating, it takes about 20 minutes for the “stop eating” signal to reach your brain. Fast eating overrides the mechanism of stimulating the satiety center in the brain. Thus, if you eat too quickly or say within 20 minutes, you tend to overfill your stomach and overeat, paving way for overweight and obesity and other related disorders.

Rather than thinking about food in terms of number of calories and nutrients, it would be more beneficial if you eat it mindfully. Eating slowly, chewing the food thoroughly, and savoring every bite of it are some important aspects of Mindful eating which contribute to your health in several ways.

Digestion: chewing well promotes the release of salivary enzymes in the mouth which in turn start off the digestion process, thus making your further digestion smoother and simple. Hence it is said that slower you eat, the faster and more efficiently you metabolize the food.

Portion control leading to weight control: Portion control is easily achieved when you slowdown your pace of eating. When you eat slowly you become aware of when you stomach gets full and you also know how much to serve yourself and when to stop. Portion size and eating speed can be well explained through the famous ‘French Paradox’ which says that despite high intake of calorie rich and fatty foods in France as compared to the US, the incidence of heart disease  and overweight is relatively low in France. It is well documented fact that the French eat much slower than the Americans thus ending up taking smaller portions. Sensible eating therefore works miraculously for the weight-watchers.

Taste and Enjoying: Eating sensibly also involves relishing your food thoroughly by feeling the flavour on your palate. Sensible eating lets you experience the textures and the aroma of the food overall, making it a wonderful experience focused more on the impression and less on the health effects of eating.

In an age which is clouded by distractions, sensible or mindful eating gets difficult for many. It requires a conscious effort on an individual’s part to make sure that he or she is eating in an environment which is less distractive. To enable yourself eat mindfully, ensure that you are away from the television, mobile phones and other devices so that the focus is completely drawn towards eating. You can have some soft music playing in the background to make the eating experience more delightful.

When you eat, JUST EAT! Be mindful and Stay Healthy.

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The Heart Truth: ‘Let heart disease be a new beginning’

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Widely recognized as a pioneer of Cardiac rehabilitation in India, Dr Aashish Contractor is a valuable information resource for the layperson to understand the various dimensions of coronary complications, their prevention and resolution. He just does not believe in leading a sedentary lifestyle. He is a marathoner and was the medical director at Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon from 2004-14. In his book ‘The Heart Truth’, Dr Contractor has summed up his 18 years of medical experience to provide inputs and tips on how to take care of the heart. This is not a doctor prescribing from the pulpit but a heart expert sharing his knowledge as a friend would. The intention of the book is to spell things out with clarity. Anusha Subramanian met up with Dr Contractor to know all about ‘The Heart Truth’. Here are excerpts from the Interview.

  • What prompted you to write this book?

The Heart TruthHeart Disease is the leading cause of death among men and women worldwide and even in India. I have found that even among people who have suffered a heart disease, the lack of knowledge about the disease is astounding. With the amount of information we have today, I would expect people to be more aware but they aren’t. Funnily enough, there is lots of alternative information floating around and what’s app just amplifies it. Which is why I called the book- ‘The Heart Truth’ and decided let’s stick to facts and put it out. Secondly, I wanted to share a lot of real-life examples in order to show that after suffering a heart disease life does not end in fact in my opinion it begins. One starts a new chapter in life. My philosophy is one should get better than before and not just get back to where they were before. Through these real-life examples, many of whom have gone on to run marathons or climb mountains. One of them even had a turnaround just 200-300 meters from Mt Everest Summit only because of bad weather. Through the book, the idea was to showcase these real-life examples and inspire people to turn their lives and let heart disease be a new beginning.

  • What has led India to face this heart disease epidemic? We are already called the world Capital of Diabetes and we are not far from being called the World Capital of Heart Disease. Any particular reason why India’s are more prone to heart disease?

You are absolutely right, the trend of heart disease in India is rapidly on the increase. The statistics show that from 1990-2000 there has been a rapid upward curve for the disease and we are getting close to being called the world capital of heart disease and there are multifactorial reasons for this. According to me earlier many were dying of infectious diseases. I guess, the life expectancy during the early 50s and 60s was also less. Most were not living long enough to suffer from heart disease. As we are getting better and taking care of infectious diseases we are living longer. And with better diagnostic, we are understanding what the health issues are. Earlier, probably people were suffering heart diseases but one did not know or diagnosed and just died. Hence, we did not label it as dying of heart disease. There is a gross underestimation of the no. of heart disease deaths in the past. Now we are getting better in measuring this. Secondly, as we have got economically better off, our lifestyle has also changed. There is more processed food in our diet now than it was before, one is indulging in far less physical activity on a daily basis or there is no activity at all. Indian’s are genetically more prone to developing insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, and higher triglycerides and more prone to developing belly fat and all of these conditions are a boiling pot which makes Indians more susceptible to heart disease.

  • When you say Indians are more susceptible to insulin resistance, higher triglycerides and other areas of diseases.. is it because of our diet?

One aspect could be a diet but, we should not isolate genes. Genetics or family risk for heart disease is a potent risk factor.  How much would they affect, it is difficult to say. Some people’s genes are so ‘bad’ they may get it no matter what but there is a difference. If they take all the care, they may get an attack at 60, that too, a mild one than getting a fatal attack at 45. So it is not that if your genes are bad, you are doomed, there are a lot of other things that you can do. We are genetically prone and Indians are affected a decade earlier than our western counterparts.

  • What according to you is the best way to detect Cardiac Ailment? As a layperson, if I do not want to go to a doctor but yet know if have a cardiac ailment?

There is no best way to detect. Once you become an adult you should keep a track of your BMI, height, weight, waist circumference on a regular basis. Once a year you should get a medical checkup done to know your basic lipid, cholesterol, BP and blood sugar levels. If the values are normal then it’s very good and you should get your tests done regularly once a year and if they are not then you must take the necessary action and make sure you go for follow-ups. If you feel any sort of discomfort, heaviness, breathlessness, chest pain, pain in the arms, in the right, in the left, back, jaw, exhaustion related kind of pain could be related to heart disease, exhaustion in your daily activity which you were doing easily at one point in time could be a symptom. These are warning signs and in most cases, these symptoms do occur before the full-blown attack it’s just that people ignore these symptoms.

  • Are Bypass and Angioplasty the only cure or are there alternative therapies?

Talking about heart disease or blockages, depending on where and what type of blockages these are. The kind of risk profile and symptoms the patient has, the medical management the patient has undergone, whether it is a bypass surgery or angioplasty? Bypass and Angioplasty are not the only cure. All the above questions have to be built on good lifestyle management. Whether you do A B or C you still need to maintain a good lifestyle. In addition to all of this, you may be fine just taking medicines or you might need a surgery or an angioplasty. Considering avoiding bypass and telling will manage through good lifestyle is not an alternative therapy. It’s a misnomer. True alternative therapies are external counterpulsation (ECP). ECP is meant for a specific subset of patients who have had stable angina after best medical management and stable angina still remains then ECP might work on them. This is generally done over 35 sittings, for an hour each. The goal of the therapy is to create collateral circulation by opening up small channels of blood. ECP is a good therapy for some patients with angina and for patients with heart failure. However, it’s not appropriate for every person with heart disease.

  • Can we reverse heart disease without surgery?

The term reversal of heart disease needs to be understood properly. We think that there is an artery with 90% block and you do something and it reduces to 60% but, it doesn’t work that way. The block doesn’t shrink to 60%, the only thing that is reduced is the chance of an event. So it is a physiological reversal but it is not an anatomical reversal. When you take care of all these factors, a reversal is possible. That is what we also do in our cardiac rehab program. He has ‘a method’, we have ‘a method’ but the principles are the same

  • There is a huge confusion on the fact that fit people are succumbing to a heart attack. Case in point is Dr Rakesh Sinha who was fit and a marathoner and he suddenly one day had a heart attack and died. And on the other hand, you have people who are completely unfit and doing all sorts of vices and yet survive longer a with no ailments

This is a concept of Risk Factors. Different factors go into your risk to develop heart disease. My classic example is driving a car; there are many factors that are in consideration when making a car accident-free. You cannot just say that my breaks were running fine and still I had an accident. That is exactly like saying I am fit and I still got a heart attack. It is good that one is fit but it is just one factor, being fit doesn’t give you immunity against other factors.

  • Two things that women need to know about Heart Disease.

One of the main thing that women need to know is that heart disease is one of the main cause of deaths among women, not breast cancer. Secondly, awareness is important as women often do not get diagnosed and this is a fact world over which is they get less care than men. The symptoms such as breathlessness in women are never considered to be a risk towards heart disease and hence not be considered for diagnosis. Sadly, women’s health is the most neglected.

  • Dr Contractor how do you keep yourself fit

I run, cycle and gym at least four to 5 days a week. It’s a mix and match of all the activities during the week.

  • How do you keep yourself away from getting stress?

Stress is part of normal life. I do believe that exercising regularly is a great stress buster for me. I would like to think that I take on a fairly positive attitude and this helps. It’s about how you deal with it. Some people really react to it negatively while some people deal with it calmly.

  • What are the three main things that people should keep in mind?

1st thing- you do not have to run a marathon or climb a mountain to be healthy. That you should do for achievements and not for health. First thing is to build a good baseline. Basic routine for few months then after that you can go for your huge goal of running a marathon or other extreme activities.

2nd Make a good plan and 3rd stick to that plan and gradually build on it. Believe me, there is nothing that you cannot do. Everybody can do everything.

  • Your Parting comments

Overall take care of yourself. Nobody needs to do anything dramatic. Consistency gets people results. As supposed to doing a dramatic program… push hard for 3-6 months and then after that, the motivation fades away. Remember, always stick to your plan. 42-43 weeks out of 52 weeks in a year helps.

Follow the ABCD principle-A- active, B- Blood pressure, C-Cholesterol and D-Good balanced diet, take care of Diabetes and do not smoke and get adequate sleep daily.

It’s not the end of the road. After suffering a heart ailment you can still come back and live a good life.

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Know your ‘Heart’ and its risks

Know your heart

Mahesh Agrawal was the happiest man as he watched his only daughter walk down the stairs in her bright red bridal dress. His eyes were moist. Father and daughter posed happily for photographs, laughed and joked. Amidst all the happiness and laughter, Mr Agrawal suddenly realized a strange discomfort in his chest. It was more likely an excruciating pain and he started to profusely sweat. The pain had now moved to his neck and he developed shortness of breath almost feeling choked. He held his hand tightly on his chest and slowly settled himself on a chair without letting anyone know.

At this point in time, he remembered his father had a similar heart attack. But, he did not want that scene to cloud the happy scene of watching his daughter getting married. As he watched his daughter get married he bid her a silent goodbye and passed away peacefully with a smile on his face. Unfortunately, it was too late before a doctor was called in.

When everybody got to know what had happened there was a sudden atmosphere of gloom. Nobody was aware what had happened. Today, on World heart Day, let’s try and understand more about our hearts and through this story we could exactly understand what happened to Mr Agrawal and why?

On doctor’s examination, the doctor revealed that Mr Agrawal had suffered a heart attack and that was because he had a Coronary Heart Disease (CHD). A heart attack occurs if the flow of oxygen-rich blood to a section of heart muscle is cut off. If blood flow isn’t restored quickly, the section of heart muscle begins to die. Without quick treatment, a heart attack can lead to serious health problems or death. CHD is the most common of all heart diseases. In the United States, CHD is the #1 cause of death for both men and women. India is not far behind. According to an article by Dr Arvind Kohli, a Cardiac Surgeon, there has been a dramatic rise in heart disease in India.

India will soon be the largest burden of heart disease globally. In India, out of the estimated population of more than 1.27 billion dispersed across various geographical regions, about 45 million people suffer from coronary artery disease. According to current estimates, India will soon have the highest number of cases of cardiovascular disease in the world. It is estimated to account for 35.9 percent deaths by the year 2030, said the article.

Over time, CHD can weaken the heart muscle and lead to heart failure and arrhythmias (ah-RITH-me-ahs). Heart failure is a condition in which your heart can’t pump enough blood to meet your body’s needs. Arrhythmias are problems with the rate or rhythm of the heartbeat.

Knowing the warning symptoms of a heart attack and how to take action can save your life or someone else’s say, doctors. In many cases patients are unaware of the risk factors and that this could be a problem that has developed over the years due to pre-existing heart disease. Several factors such as genetic, metabolic, early-life, conventional and non-conventional risk factors are suspected to cause high CHD morbidity and mortality rates among Indians. Knowing who is at risk helps a great deal. Men have a greater risk of heart attack than women do, and men have heart attacks earlier in life than women. However, beginning at Age 70, the risk is equal for men and women.

Many are of the opinion that heart disease is a lifestyle disease that occurs because one is not maintaining a proper healthy lifestyle. But, you are mistaken. Heart disease could also be due to family history. Here is where the nature vs nurture concept comes in. Did you develop a heart disease over the years, did you already have it and it went undiagnosed or did someone give it to you. In fact, you have an increased risk of developing heart disease if you have a parent with a history of heart disease, especially if they were diagnosed before Age 50. Ask your doctor when it’s appropriate for you to start screenings for heart disease so it can be detected and treated early.

The other common risk factors could include cigarette smoking and exposure to tobacco smoke, high blood cholesterol, and high triglycerides – especially high LDL (“bad”) cholesterol over 100 mg/dL and low HDL (“good”) cholesterol under 40 mg/dL. Some patients who have existing heart or blood vessel disease, and other patients who have a very high risk, should aim for an LDL level less than 70 mg/dL. Your doctor can provide specific guidelines.

The risk of heart disease is also highest among the urban population. A 2013 study concluded that over 70 percent of the Urban Indian population is at the risk of being diagnosed with heart disease. This is mainly due to unhealthy eating habits, lack of physical activity and stress.

High blood pressure (140/90 mmHg or higher), uncontrolled diabetes (HbA1c >7.0), physical inactivity and being overweight (body mass index [BMI] 25–29 kg/m2) or being obese (BMI higher than 30 kg/m2) are other risks for heart diseases. The population of diabetics in India is about 50.8 million, making India the diabetic capital of the world. The prevalence is higher in urban areas (6-8 percent) compared to rural areas (2-3 percent), according to statics provided in Dr Kohli’s article. The increase in hypertension prevalence has been steady over the last 50 years, more in urban than in rural areas. Hypertension is about 25-30 percent in urban and 10-15 percent in rural individuals.

You might be surprised but uncontrolled stress and anger could also lead to CHD. Staying calm helps. Indians like Americans have a higher degree of obesity due to bad food habits. Diet high in saturated fat and cholesterol apart from drinking too much alcohol are also a major risk factor for CHD. The more risk factors you have, the greater your risk of developing coronary artery disease.

Hence knowing the symptoms and risk factors is very important. The most common symptom of CHD is angina (also called angina pectoris). Angina is often referred to as chest pain. It is also described as chest discomfort, heaviness, tightness, pressure, aching, burning, numbness, fullness, or squeezing. It can be mistaken for indigestion or heartburn. Angina is usually felt in the chest, but may also be felt in the left shoulder, arms, neck, back or jaw. All of these symptoms were witnessed by Mr Agrawal.

Other symptoms that may occur with coronary artery disease include:

  • Shortness of breath
  • Palpitations (irregular heartbeats, skipped beats or a “flip-flop” feeling in your chest)
  • A faster heartbeat
  • Dizziness
  • Nausea
  • Extreme weakness
  • Sweating

Cardiac surgeons opine that the treatment for CHD involves reducing your risk factors. Change your lifestyle. Get active, exercise and eat right and sleep well. If lifestyle changes aren’t enough to control your heart disease, taking medications as prescribed to treat certain risk factors, such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure helps. Possibly undergoing invasive and/or surgical procedures, and seeing your doctor for regular visits is also good. Treating CHD is important to reduce your risk of a heart attack or stroke. If the problem is detected early lifestyle changes, medicines, and medical procedures can help prevent or treat CHD. These treatments may reduce the risk of related health problems.

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